国家电视台中央电视台(CCTV)周五表示,驻扎在中国天宫空间站的三名航天员将延长驻留时间约一个月。该乘组于10月31日搭乘神舟二十一号飞船从酒泉卫星发射中心发射升空,原计划在完成为期六个月的标准任务后于本月底返回地球。11月,神舟二十号飞船的一扇窗户发现裂缝,迫使空间站的前一班乘组延长了九天驻留时间,随后搭乘其接替者(神舟二十一号)的飞船返回地球。作为救援任务的一部分,神舟二十二号无人无人飞船被送往空间站,以帮助目前的乘组安全返回地球。中央电视台报道称:“为进一步验证人类在轨长期驻留相关技术,并最大限度发挥神舟二十二号飞船作为空间站补给应急发射载具的综合效益,经周密评估,决定将乘组在轨驻留时间延长约一个月。”神舟二十二号航天员原定于本月发射升空,但现在预计将于5月搭乘神舟二十三号飞船前往空间站。
The three astronauts stationed on China’s Tiangong space station will extend their stay by around a month, state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday.The crew lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on October 31 on board the Shenzhou-21 vessel and were expected to return to Earth at the end of this month after a standard six-month mission.In November, a crack was discovered in a window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, forcing the space station’s previous crew to extend their stay for a further nine days before using their replacements’ Shenzhou-21 vessel to return to Earth.As part of the rescue mission, the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 capsule was sent to the space station to help the current crew return to Earth safely.“To further validate technologies related to long-term human habitation in orbit and to maximise the comprehensive benefits of using the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft as an emergency launch vehicle to resupply the space station, it has been decided, after careful evaluation and assessment, that the crew’s stay in orbit will be extended by approximately one month,” CCTV reported.The Shenzhou-22 astronauts were originally going to blast off this month, but are now expected to travel to the space station in May on the Shenzhou-23 vessel.